System for re-filling printing ink containers of printing presses



June 20, 1967 F. HEIL ETAL SYSTEM FOR RBI-FILLING PRINTING INKCONTAINERS OF PRINTING PRESSES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6. 1965 mmM, d -mm I) UW W June 20, 1967 F. HEIL ETAL 3,326,124

SYSTEM FOR RE-FILLING PRINTING INK CONTAINERS OF PRINTING PRESSES 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1965 //wmmPsmm M, Wm M! United StatesPatent 3,326,124 SYSTEM FOR RE-FILLING PRINTING INK CONTAINERS 0FPRINTING PRESSES Friedrich Heil and Wilhelm Miiller, both of Frankfurtam Main, Germany, assignors to Teletonbau und Normalzeit G.m.b.H.,Frankfurt am Main, Germany Filed Apr. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 445,957

Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 25, 1964,

1 Claim. (Cl. 101367) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container forprinting ink having an ink-pervious cylindrical surface and a handle formanipulation and mounting in a printing press. The printing pressprovides a support for the container having a pair of arms pivoted froma base frame the other end of the arms adapted to rotatably engage thecontainer and through a spring attached to a cross member connecting thearms, hold the container in an inking position on the frame.

This invention relates to a system of re-filling printing ink containersof printing presses from a storage device.

Printing presses having a printing cylinder, and more particularly suchprinting presses for application in postage meters, frequently include adispenser for printing ink having a container for printing ink whoselateral surface is pervious to printing ink. The ink dispenser inks theplates, or the printing rollers, of the printing press by means of anintermediate roller of felt, or a like printing-ink-absorbent material.The dispenser for the printing ink may include pivotable arm means whichmake it possible to pivot the container for the printing ink from itsoperative position to a re-fill position, in which it may be refilled,and vice versa. Re-filling of the container for printing ink may beeffected upon removal of a screw-threaded plug, normally closing thecontainer. Re-filling of the container involves the danger of spillingink, and of thereby soiling the printing press, and parts adjacentthereto. vDuring the process of re-filling the container for printingink, the operation of the printing press must be interrupted. These arevery serious drawbacks, or limitations.

It is one object of this invention to provide improved equipment forprinting presses which is not subject to the aforementioned drawbacks orlimitations.

Another object of this invention is to provide containers for printingink and storage devices for such containers positively precludingspilling of printing ink onto the printing press, and consequent soilingof the press, and drastically reducing the time during which theoperation of a printing press must be interrupted when the supply ofprinting ink inside its dispenser for printing ink is exhausted.

The aforementioned objects are achieved according to this invention bymeans of a container for printing ink forming a structural unit which isreadily removable from the printing press and has a handle meansprojecting away from the lateral ink-pervious surface of the container,thus making it possible to transfer the container from the printingpress to a separate storage device in which it may be re-filled, andvice versa, back to the printing press, without danger of soiling thehands of an operator performing these tasks with printing ink. Theprinting press is preferably porvided with pivotable arms for receivingand supporting the container for printing ink. Upon exhaustion of thesupply of printing ink the empty container for printing ink may bereadily removed from the printing press and replaced by anothercontainer which is filled with printing ink and stored in theaforementioned storage device and thus held ready to replace at any timean exhausted container. This mode of replacement of an exhaustedcontainer for printing ink is so simple that it minimises the period oftime during which the operation of the printing press must beinterrupted. Re-filling an exhausted container for printing ink may beeffected conveniently, and without haste, while the latter is placedinto and stored in the aforementioned storage device'. Printing inkwhich may accidentally be spilled during re-filling of the container forprinting ink inside the storage device may soil the storage device, butwill not soil the printing press, or any part thereof. It is possible toso design the storage device that spilled printing ink may readily beremoved from it, thus making it possible to keep the storage deviceimmaculately clean.

The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a portion of a printing press including adispenser for printing ink embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the same structure as FIG. 1 shown uponpivoting the support for the container of the printing ink from itsoperative position to its non-operative position and upon removal of thecontainer of the printing ink from its support, and from the printingpress, respectively;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the container for printing ink and thehandle member forming a part thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the structure shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a isometric view of a storage device for several containersfor printing ink with one container being inserted into it; and

FIG. 6 shows the same structure as FIG. 5, partly in a section takenalong VI-VI of FIG. 5 and partly in elevation.

In the drawings reference numeral 1 has been applied to generallyindicate the dispenser for printing ink (see FIG. 1). Dispenser 1includes a fixed plate 2 forming two brackets 3, 4. Pins 9 and 10projecting through brackets 3,4 pivotally support arms 5, 7 and 6, 8,respectively (see FIG. 2). Arms 5 and 6 support on the ends thereofremote from pivot pins 9, 10 a shaft 12 on which a roller 11 of felt orsimilar material is rotatably mounted. Reference numerals 13 and 14 havebeen applied to indicate a pair of helical springs each having one endsecured to plate 2 and the opposite end secured to one of arms 5, 6.Springs 13, 14 bias felt roller 11 into engagement with printingcylinder 15. Printing cylinder 15 supports on the surface thereof aprinting plate 16 which is being inked-in by felt roller 11 engagingprinting plate 16 under the bias of springs 13, 14.

Arms 7 and 8 are joined together by transverse bridge member 17 and bytransverse rod 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Reference numeral 19 has beenapplied to indicate a helical over-center spring of which one end issecured to plate 2 and the other end is secured to the center of rod 18.In the position shown in FIG. 2 spring 19 tends to pivot arms 7 and 8 inclockwise direction about pivot pins 9, 10. The direction of the bias ofspring 19 is reversed if and when arms 7 and 8 are moved manually incounterclockwise direction to such an extent that spring 19 is movedpast the straight line interconnecting pins 9, 10. In other words, undersuch conditions arms 7 and 8 are biased by spring 19 in counterclockwisedirection as seen in FIG. 2. The ends 20, 21 of arms 7, 8 remote frompivot pins 9, 10 are fork-shaped and form bearings for supporting thecontainer for printing ink in form of a cylinder 22 having anink-pervious lateral surface (see FIG. 1).

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 ink-pervious cylinder 22 has adjacent one endsurface thereof a ratched-wheelshaped collar 23, and adjacent the otherend surface thereof a cylindrical collar 24. The yoke 25 of wire forminga handle member has eyelets 26 pivotally supported on collars 23 and 24.Cylinder 22 is further provided with an additional collar 27 adjacentone end surface thereof and with an axially extending pin 28 adjacentthe other end surface thereof. Parts 27, 28 are means for mountingcylinder 22 on the fork-shaped ends 20, 21 of arms 5, 6 (see FIG. 2).Cylinder 22 is kept closed by a screwthreaded cap 36 (FIG. 4) which mustbe removed when it is desired to reafill cylinder 22 with printing ink.Yoke 25 is provided with resilient projections 29 and 30 each engagingupon insertion of cylinder 22 into supporting arms 7 and 8 a corrugationor recess 31 and 32 formed in transverse bridge member 17. The centralpart of transverse bridge member 17 forms a tab-like projection 45intended to be used as a handle for pivoting arms 7 and 8. Wire yoke 25is shaped in such a fashion that its central portion by-passes tab-likeprojection 45.

The storage device shown in FIGS. and 6 has been generally designated byreference numeral 33. It comprises a wall structure defining a pluralityof cylindrical compartments 34, e.g. four such compartments. The size ofeach compartment 34 is such that it may receive cylinder or container 22for printing ink, some clearance being left between the lateral sidewall of the compartmerit and the ink-pervious lateral surface ofcylinder or container 22. FIGS. 5 and 6 show one compartment 34 ofstorage device 33 as being occupied by a cylinder or container 22, thethree remaining compartments which could possibly be occupied bycylinders or containers 22 being unoccupied. Each compartment 34 isprovided adjacent the bottom thereof with a central or coaxial support37 for one cylinder 22, and each support 37 has a central recess forreceiving one pin 28 intergral with one cylinder 22. Support 37 isfurther provided with a fixed eccentric abutment pin 35 intended toengage a recess formed by ratched-wheel-shaped collar 23 of container22. Pin 35 is a means for precluding rotation of any cylinder 22 insideof chambers or compartments 34 when screwthreaded caps are rotated inorder to open or to close cylinders 22.

The side wall of each chamber or compartment is provided with a slot 38extending in a direction longitudinally of the respective chamber orcompartment and arranged at a point thereof remote from the adjacentchamber or compartment (see FIG. 5). Slots 38 are in tended to receivewire yokes or handle member 25 when a cylinder 22 is inserted into oneof compartments 34. Slots 38 do not extend to the level of the bottom ofcompartments 34, and passageways 39 arranged to the sides of supports 37make it possible for printing ink spilled in the process of fillingcylinders 22 to flow into a tray 40 arranged below supports 37. Tray 40is arranged on a base plate or socket 41 of synthetic resin havingresilient projections 42 engaging cooperating apertures 44 arranged in aprotective hood 43. Thus hood 43 is firmly attached to base plate orsocket 41 from which it may be removed readily on account of theresiliency of projections 42. The latter may be formed by beads of asynthetic resin.

Upon rotation of the printing cylinder in the direction of the arrow ofFIG. 1 the printing plate 16 is inkedin by means of printing inkreleased from porous cylinder 22 and transferred to printing plate 16 bythe intermediary of felt roller 11. When the ink supply formed by agiven cylinder 22 is exhausted, parts 7, 8, 17, 18 and 22 may be pivotedabout pins 9, 10 from the position shown in. FIG, 1 to the positionshown in FIG. 2 and further until the bias of spring 19 is reversed.This operation is performed by grasping and manipulating the tab-likeprojection 45 of transverse bridge member 17. Thereupon handle member oryoke 25 may be used for lifting cylinder 22 off parts 7, 8, 17, 18 whichinvolves the removal of projections 29, 30 from corrugations or recesses31, 32 in transverse bridge member 17. Now the empty cylinder 22 may beinserted into the structure of FIGS. 5 and 6 and a similar replacementcylinder 22 filled with printing ink taken from that structure andplaced into parts 7, 8, 17, 18 of the dispenser, thus making 'theprinting press almost instantly ready for continued use.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the present systemeliminates the steps of removing from a container for printing ink aplug or cap and of re-filling the container at the time the inkdispenser of a printing press is exhausted and the printing pressrequires replenishment of printing ink. These operations may beperformed at any other convenient point of time.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be madein the preferred embodiment of the invention which has been illustratedand described herein Without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention as defined by the following claim.

We claim as our invention:

A printing ink dispenser for printing presses comprising in combination:

(a) a container for printing ink having a lateral cylindrical surfacepervious to printing ink, a screwthreaded removable closing element forsaid container adjacent one of the end surfaces thereof, a pair ofsupporting means for said container each arranged adjacent one of theend surfaces thereof, a pair of collars each arranged adjacent one ofthe end surfaces of said container, a handle member formed of wiredefining a pair of eyelets each mounted on one of said pair of collars,said handle member having a central portion projecting away from saidlateral cylindrical surface of said container allowing manipulation ofsaid container without physical engagement with said lateral cylindricalsurface thereof, and said handle member further including a pair ofresilient projections situated between said pair of eyelets and saidcentral portion thereof; and

-(b) a support for said container including a pair of pivotable armshaving substantially fork-shaped ends receiving said pair of supportingmeans for said container, a first transverse tie member interconnectingsaid pair of arms, said first tie member having a pair of recesses eachengaged by one of said pair of resilient projections of said handlemember and said first tie member further having a tab-like handle forpivoting said pair of arms, an over-center spring for biasing saidsupport to either of two limit positions thereof, and a secondtransverse tie member interconnecting said pair of arms and supportingone end of said over-center spring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 491,046 1/ 1893 Fairfield 1013481,018,886 2/1912 Dodge 101--331 FOREIGN PATENTS 139,021 10/ 1950Australia. 330,678 6/1930 Great Britain.

ROBERT E. PULFR'EY, Primary Examiner,

F, A, \VINANS, Assistant Examiner, I

